A New Companion
by Kamden
Summary: Deidara never thought of himself as lonely, because he always had his art.  He didn't need anything else.  At least, he thought he didn't, until he met an unusual dog.


A New Companion

Seating himself in a soft spot of grass, Deidara delicately opened his sketchbook to a fresh new page. With his charcoal poised, his sharp eyes studied the scene before him. The lofty trees bowed gently with the wind as the autumn leaves drifted gracefully downwards. The grassy terrain of the park was already decorated with such leaves, and some were lifted back up into the air by the bitterly chilly breeze. Deidara's blue eyes followed the leaves as they danced in the air, his blond hair swaying in the wind. He enjoyed the bite of the autumn cold; this climate pleased him greatly in comparison to that of his native country.

Guiding the charcoal quite dexterously across the paper, Deidara began the gesture sketch of the scene. He didn't even bother suppressing a smile as his drawing began to take shape. It was much easier to enjoy art when there wasn't a certain masked bonehead hovering over his shoulder, gawking at every single stroke as if it were genius. Deidara was quite glad that Tobi was off completing some side task; he didn't have to deal with _that_ handful of a partner.

Deidara hated the "two man team" system of Akatsuki. He much preferred to work alone, like how it was _before_ Akatsuki. He never liked fighting alongside a comrade; others only got in the way. The Iwa nin didn't put his trust in anyone anyway; it was human nature for one to put himself above another. Deidara was no different, and he would always place greater importance on his needs over someone else's. His art was perfect, so why would he need anyone? Art never argued nor disagreed with him, and its constantly changing, constantly fleeting state always kept him amused, amazed, and inspired. Deidara never thought of himself as lonely, because he had his art.

Sensing the presence of another, Deidara instantly snapped out of his thoughts. Turning his head sharply to his right, the shinobi located the source of the presence. Apparently, a dog had haplessly seated itself next to the notorious terrorist of Akatsuki. Its dark, orb-like eyes met Deidara's, begging for affection. Curling his lip at the mutt, he scooted away from it.

"I don't plan on giving you any attention, yeah," he informed the dog, as he waved his right hand about, attempting to shoo the animal away. The dog didn't even blink, let alone budge, and its eyes remained fixated on the shinobi's visage. Groaning from annoyance, Deidara decided to ignore the animal, and he continued to flesh out his charcoal drawing. However, the dog's presence (and he knew that it was still _looking_ at him) bothered him greatly. He briskly snatched the nearest twig, and he prodded at the dog's hind leg, hoping that it too would become irritated and leave. To Deidara's dismay, the dog merely glanced at the stick for a moment, before flicking its gaze back to the blond ninja. Disgruntled, Deidara carefully moved the canine's leg with the stick, noting that the dog was female, and then flung the stick a distance away.

"Go get it, girl, get the stick! And _don't_ come back, yeah!" he shouted, pointing in the direction of said projectile. Again, the dog didn't bother to move, her eyes focused onto Deidara's once more. Neither broke the eye contact.

"Why are you still here, yeah? Why are you looking at me like _that_? What do you want? Even if I _had_ something, I wouldn't waste it on you, yeah." Her unwavering gaze continued to linger on the S-rank shinobi. At a loss for ways to deal with the odd creature, Deidara merely watched the dog in anticipation. Her build was too small and frail for a nin dog, so he was thankful that he didn't have to worry about an enemy using her to find him. It's not that he couldn't handle an enemy (and he had many); he merely wasn't in the mood for a fight.

The dog yawned lightly, and she scooted closer to the ex-Iwa nin, her gaze never leaving him. _She's definitely a domestic dog, yeah_, Deidara thought, _probably a stray_. He could tell that the dog was likely a mixed breed, despite his lack of knowledge regarding the species. Her body was covered in a glossy, black coat of fur. However, her short legs had a strange coloring to them; it was as if she wore pale yellow socks. Smirking at the silly notion, Deidara noticed that she had a similar coloring on her muzzle as well. Two spots of yellow rested above her round eyes, and they seem to twitch in different directions like eyebrows. Deidara found the eyes to be the most striking of her appearance. As dark as they were, he felt a strong sense of warmth exuding from them. Her eyes continued to lie heavily on him, still desiring his affection greatly.

Reaching for his bag of clay, Deidara knew what he had to do. The mouth on his right hand began devouring the clay ravenously, as it molded his chakra with the clay. Deidara decided to deem the aesthetically appealing dog as "art," and art was fleeting and ephemeral, of course. Why should the "art" sitting beside him be appreciated any differently? Besides, Deidara's favorite part of art was the explosion, anyway.

He gently placed the explosive clay sparrow on top of the canine's head. As he stood up, Deidara commanded the dog to "stay put." The dog pinned her ears back, realizing that something was amiss. The shinobi chuckled lightly; she was definitely an amusing creature. His grin faded as his eyes fixed onto hers once again. The warmth had dissipated, her eyes no longer begging for love. Now, it appeared that she was silently pleading for her life. Did she understand what he was going to do?

Closing his eyes, Deidara took a couple steps back. He wasn't going to let a _dog_ beg her way out of becoming a masterpiece. Forming the hand seal, the ninja reopened his eyes. The deadly explosive remained balanced as the dog lowered her head, not out of defeat, but out of fear and misery. _She's only an animal_, thought Deidara, _why does she desire to live so greatly? What does she have to live for?_ Pursing his lips, Deidara dropped the hand seal and whisked the sparrow bomb away.

"You don't want to become art, then. Pah, dogs have no artistic taste, yeah," stated Deidara with a casual shrug. The dog, clearly amused at the sound of his voice, rushed forward and began affectionately licking Deidara's charcoaled fingers.

"Eeargh! Keep your tongue to yourself, yeah!" Deidara exclaimed, frantically wiping his fingers on the end of his cloak. _Don't these things lick their "special" places?_ Deidara was pleased to see that the dog was disgusted as well, as she repeatedly scraped her tongue with her teeth, trying to remove the taste of the charcoal.

"Ha ha, regret it, don't'cha?" laughed Deidara. He watched the dog expectantly. "You know, since I spared you, you should do me a favor and leave me alone, yeah." The dog merely wagged her tail exuberantly, evidently pleased by the sound of his voice. With a groan, Deidara collected his belongings.

"Since you won't leave me, then _I_ will move, yeah." With that said, the artist departed from his former location. To his dismay, the dog was trotting at his heel. He lead her to several different spots, hoping that she would find one displeasing, but she seemed so complacent being with him. Frustrated, Deidara stopped and turned to look at the dog, and he gave her his sharpest and deadliest glare, a glare that has made men shudder with fear (or, at least one in particular). The mutt was completely unfazed, however, as she wagged her tail and motioned to lick his ankle. This time, he quickly pulled his ankle away from that mischievous tongue.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" he asked, his voice rising as his patience wore thin. In response, the dog wagged her tail more vivaciously, thrilled once again by his voice. Deidara rolled his eyes.

"Fine, stay if you want. But just so you know, I don't talk to mindless animals, yeah," huffed the shinobi, as he plopped himself down and folded his arms childishly. He opened his pack once more, this time to retrieve a bottle of water. Taking a hearty swig of the water, Deidara couldn't help but notice that the dog was now eyeing his water bottle. He began moving the bottle back and forth, watching the dog as her eyes followed its movements, licking her chops.

"Thirsty, yeah?" snorted Deidara, "Too bad. I already told you that I wasn't going to give you anything. This is _my_ water, and I bought this –wait, no, I snatched this one from some vendor– I stole this fair and square, you stupid mutt. It's all mine, yeah." He greedily took another sip, hoping that the dog would get the picture at this point. She continued to stare at the water bottle most pitifully, her eyes occasionally flicking over in Deidara's direction. With a scoff, Deidara tipped the water bottle, pouring the cool drink before the canine. She eagerly lapped up the water as it cascaded towards the grass.

"That's it," Deidara said, as he quickly flicked the bottle upright. The dog was, nevertheless, greatly pleased, and she laid down beside the Akatsuki member, resting her head on his knee.

"Hey, get off me!" Deidara barked, shaking his knee in an attempt to vex the dog. Her head remained on his knee, and she looked at ninja with such fondness and delight that Deidara became utterly confused. _Why does she want to be with me so badly? Of all people, why me?_

After a moment of confusion, it finally occurred to Deidara that this creature simply did not want to be alone. Unlike him, the dog couldn't stand the thought of not have someone beside her. She didn't necessarily want Deidara's attention; she just wanted anyone's attention. Deidara felt a surge of pity for the animal. Almost reluctantly, Deidara extended his arm and patted the on her head three times. This simple display of affection elated the dog greatly, and her tail wagged ferociously.

"Happy, are you?" Deidara inquired, "I still don't understand why you chose me, yeah. There are plenty of happier and more tolerant people." He stared back at the dog, expecting an answer that he knew would not come. His little companion scooted closer to him, her head remaining on his knee and her compassionate eyes never leaving his face. _Maybe, she chose me because I'm not happy_, pondered Deidara. Maybe he didn't enjoy solitude as much as he had previously thought.

Deidara felt something warm press against his side. The dog was rubbing her face lovingly into the shinobi's abdomen, her tail wagging excitedly. Grinning, Deidara began affectionately scratching the dog behind her ears. The dog suddenly lurched at Deidara, hoping to lick his face. Deidara, of course, pulled back in time (his ninja skills wouldn't allow a _dog_ to land a hit on him).

"Ha, you missed, yeah," chuckled Deidara, enthusiastically petting the dog. "Say, would you like to hear about the Superflat art movement?" He knew that she wouldn't understand him, which was confirmed by her interested yet blissfully clueless expression. She merely wanted to hear a friendly voice. Deidara didn't complain; he was eager at the opportunity to talk about his art without fear of her judging him or disagreeing.

"You're a good dog, yeah," he said quietly, as he held her head steady. He leaned in and placed a kiss on the top of her furry head. However, his stomach turned from dread when he heard a familiar gasp.

"Awww, senpai!"

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A/N: I made a fanart for this fanfiction as well: http:// kamden. deviantart. com / art / A-Bit-Overprotective- 72210797 (without the spaces).


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